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QMI Agency

An Australian horse race track has taken marketing to a whole new level.

In an effort to draw attention to their track, the Gold Coast Turf Club in Queensland will be racing women instead in their first annual Bikini Track Sprint.

The race is similar to the 2008 Bikini Beach Mile race that was held at Hollywood Park Racecourse in California, where bikini-clad women were locked in the stalls at the starting gate and raced to the finish line.

According to the website, the race is open to "fillies and mares" who are willing to dole out $60 to participate and race for the chance to win $5,000.

While the event is intended to be all in good fun, it has drawn criticism from people who accused the event of stooping to "a new tacky low."

But that hasn't fazed the club's director Jennifer Bartels who told the UK's Daily Mail Online, "Any publicity is good publicity. I feel using ladies jumping out of the barriers is akin to someone jumping out of a birthday cake."

The club's chief executive understands where the criticism is coming from but insists the race is all in good taste.

"There will be some people that raise their eyebrows," Grant Sheather told the paper. "That is to be expected ... It will be done in good taste and we are trying to attract some competitive runners, we want to see the sports stars."

Goldcoast.com.au conducted a poll which concluded that only 27% of respondents considered the race degrading while 73% believed it wasn't.